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Department assessment

History BA learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of the History BA are formed out of the belief that history majors should be proficient in the use of historical methods and skills and be able to apply these research, writing, and analytical skills to many professions.

1. Students shall be able to write a clear expository essay in which they develop a coherent historical argument and marshal evidence to support an interpretation. This learning outcome is considered the most important. Since the discipline of history most often requires written communication, the ability to write a clear expository essay based on historical argument and evidence is the basic skill necessary for successful historical work on any professional level.

2. Students shall demonstrate adequate reading skills of primary and secondary historical sources. This learning outcome involves skills necessary for the completion of the first learning outcome but also shows that students are equipped to understand written texts in all contexts that they may encounter in their professional and personal lives.

3. Students shall use citation standards appropriate to the discipline of history (Chicago Manual of Style). A fundamental part of credible historical analysis rests on the proper use of historical sources. Students need to know when and how to cite primary and secondary sources correctly. In addition, the discipline of history has writing and formatting standards that differ from other disciplines. We would like our students to be versed in the standards of the history profession, for they may learn different standards in courses from other disciplines (such as MLA format, which is not used in history writing in the US).